


Feels like home

by mvltihart



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
Genre: Bucky needs a hug, Domestic, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post-Endgame, Pre-Slash, Tony Stark (mentioned) - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-18
Updated: 2020-02-18
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:39:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22793380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mvltihart/pseuds/mvltihart
Summary: Bucky receives a surprising package that leads to an important decision. Fortunately, Sam is always there to help.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Sam Wilson, James "Bucky" Barnes/Sam Wilson
Comments: 4
Kudos: 69





	Feels like home

**Author's Note:**

> Hi readers! So, after I saw the tfatws trailer, I just had to write sth about them. I’m sorry it took so long and I’m also sorry I suck at summaries.  
> Anyways, huge thanks to the biggest Sambucky shipper I know aka @cvptains (everyone go read her stuff), who was kind enough to beta this fic for me (you’re the best Aely ilysm)
> 
> I’ve never written sambucky before so I’m kinda nervous, but I really hope you enjoy this!

He took another dish from the sink and started washing the remains of the food with a sponge while whistling under his breath.

They had been living in the SHIELD issued apartment for three months now and even though most of the time they were away on missions, it did feel like home.

Well, they do say home is more about the people... The image of a certain brunette popped up in his mind.

He placed the clean dish next to the sink when he was satisfied with his work, and picked up another dirty one. 

Suddenly, he heard the door unlock and even though he didn’t turn around, he was pretty certain who the incomer was, even by the sound of his shoes.

“Sorry I’m late. SHIELD had more questions about the mission.” Bucky said as he walked in the kitchen and placed his keys on the counter.

“I just ate, but the soup is still warm if you want any.” The falcon said without stopping his work and pointed his head towards the direction of the pot.

“Thanks, but I’d rather go take a nap.” He started walking away from the kitchen.

“Didn’t know a little paperwork was all it took to wear a super soldier out.” He teased.

“Oh you’ll need a lot more than that to wear me out.” He replied easily and Sam could feel an involuntary smile on his lips.

Just before the soldier opened the door to his room, Sam remembered “Hey menace!”

“Yes, my wife?” He stopped on his track and replied with fake affection.

“There’s a package for you.”

“A package?”

“I don’t know, man. Happy, SI’s head of security, came by and gave me a box; told me it’s for you, but I don’t know anything more.”

“Oh ugh okay... thanks.” The brunette replied, entered his room and closed the door behind him.

Sam started whistling again while he cleaned a dirty spoon, but stopped abruptly when he heard a loud noise.

It sounded like something heavy had fallen to the ground and it was followed by someone, Bucky, hissing _“shit”_. Then a thud.

Sam placed the spoon and the sponge down, rubbed his hands dry in a towel and yelled “Everything okay?”.

When he didn’t get a reply he walked towards his friend’s room and waited just outside the door. “Bucky? Are you okay?”

But he still didn’t get an answer, so he braced himself and said “Okay, I’m coming in!” before opening the door.

The sight that greeted him was very unfamiliar and honestly quite worrying. 

The super soldier was sitting on the ground, his hands gripping tightly the edges of the box, his mouth slightly ajar and his eyes staring persistently to a random spot in the wall opposite of him.

Of course, he was familiar with Bucky’s flashbacks; even after the treatment, he would suddenly relive distant memories either from the war or afterwards. Some nights, he still had nightmares, about the deaths he, _no; the Winter Soldier_ , had caused. 

But at that moment, it looked like nothing of the sort. His face was blank, only a small frown between his eyebrows revealing the emotion he was carrying. 

Oh no, he thought and kneeled next to his friend. 

He placed his hand on the other man’s back and tried to look at his face. “Hey... you’re okay, everyone’s okay...” he started softly.

“Not everyone.” The brunette croaked out, his voice raspy and pained. 

Then Sam understood. “Can I see what’s in the box?” He asked carefully.

With trembling hands Bucky reopened the package. Inside there was a brand new bionic arm. It was black with golden flecks. Nothing like the one he currently had; it looked visibly more advanced and that says a lot considering princess Shuri had modified his last one.

And taking into account that Happy was the one to bring the package...

“Tony made you an arm.” He whispered surprised.

Bucky finally turned to face him; his eyes were filled with unshed tears, brow still furrowed. 

“I don’t deserve it.” His voice broke and one tear rolled down his cheek.

“Hey, none of that. You fought so hard, you took part in saving the world. And even before that, you managed to do something incredible: you came back from somewhere no other man had managed. You’re a hero, Buck.”

“I never got to tell him I’m sorry. I- He doesn’t know. And now he’s...” Remorse was painfully obvious in his expression.

“He knew it wasn’t your fault. He had forgiven you a long time ago.”

“H-How do you know that?”

“Otherwise he wouldn’t have made you the arm. He knew his parents’ death was the Winter Soldier’s, Hydra’s, doing, not yours.” He calmly explained.

Bucky started shaking his head rabidly. “I-I’m not him. I don’t do that anymore. I’m not-“

Sam stopped him by cupping his face to keep his head still. “Hey, I know. You are James Buchanan Barnes. You had been through a shitload of trauma, but you’ve made it to the other side. You’re a menace that loves to steal my damn pudding even though you can buy your own.”

Bucky let out a wet laugh. Sam counted that as a win.

“You’re the bravest man I know.”

The other man closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them he whispered, “Sometimes the guilt is eating me alive.”

“I know, Buck. What you’re doing right now? So hard. You’re so strong you have no idea. You’ve made so much progress. I know it’s difficult to come to terms with the brainwashing, but it really wasn’t you. You were the victim there.”

“My logical brain knows that, but my heart... I just-I remember all of them; the people I murdered. And sometimes I wish I didn’t and then I feel guilty for it, because I was the one who took them away from this world.”

“It’s completely normal to want to forget. Hell, if I were in your shoes I would still be at Wakanda doing therapy and staying away from the rest of the world. But you’re here. Because you moved past everything and you decided you want to fight to protect other people. Because that’s who you are, you are a good man.”

After that confession, the brunette suddenly pulled the other man in his arms and held him in a tight embrace. 

They stayed like that for a while. At one point Sam heard a sob, so he started rubbing circles in his friend’s back.

After some time passed, could‘ve been minutes, could‘ve been hours; Sam wouldn’t know, all he could focus on was comforting his friend, Bucky finally pulled away and looked at Sam in the eyes.

“I’m not the Winter Soldier.” He said with a final tone. Before Sam could talk, he added, “But I do feel like him. And maybe part of the reason is that I still look like him.”

“Okay...” He prompted the other man. 

“Maybe we can do something about it. How about the hair?”

“You know they say I am a mean barber.” He joked.

“Literally no one says that.” Bucky laughed softly.

“Okay true, but I did use to cut my buddies’ hair in the army.” He mentioned as both men got up.

He carefully lifted the box and placed it on the bed.

He took his friend’s hand and started dragging him away from his bedroom. To Bucky’s confused look he replied, “If we’re doing this, then we’ll do it right. I’m not getting your dog hair all over the floor.” as he led the soldier towards the bathroom.

He let the soldier’s hand go and proceeded to go to the kitchen, take a chair and place it in the middle of the bathroom.

The super soldier waited in the corner of the confined space, while Sam rummaged through the cabinets to find towels, scissors and a razor. He then left the room and came back with a sheet, which he placed underneath the chair. 

Then he motioned Bucky to sit and placed a towel over his soldiers. He used the other towel to cover the mirror. “I want it to be a surprise.” He explained.

“A good one or a bad one?” The soldier looked at himself in disbelief.

“A surprise nonetheless.” 

“Should I call Sharon...”

“Oh come on, how bad can it be? At least you won’t look like a Viking anymore. I thought you were copying Thor or some shit.” He teased.

“You’re jealous, because you’re basically bald. Like an eagle. Is that why they call you the Falcon?” He fake gasped.

“Be careful what you say about the man who’s holding a pair of scissors next to your head, Chewbacca.” Sam replied and hit the other man’s head playfully with the back of his scissors.

 ****As Sam started cutting the soldiers hair, they fell into a familiar routine, bickering and chatting about their every day lives.

“I’m pretty sure Sharon is seeing someone.” He commented at one point.

“Ohhh do we know more?” Bucky perked up.

“Nah...says she doesn’t kiss and tell.”

“Bullshit. Then it’s gotta be someone we know. I’m gonna fish her tomorrow about it.”

“You do that.” He laughed fondly and cut another strand of hair. “Remember when she and Steve had a fling?”

Bucky let out an involuntary laugh. “God, don’t remind me. What was that?” 

“I think they could have been good together. But Sharon being Peggy’s niece and all that... kinda weird, you know?”

“It was kinda unfair for her.” The other man replied and Sam hummed in agreement.

After a beat, he said “Speaking of Steve... how do you feel about it?”

“Ugh I don’t know. I’m not mad, he’s done so much for me, the least he could do is make himself happy.” He sounded genuine.

“But you don’t agree either.” He read his friend’s mind.

“Look, I’m not ecstatic about it. Are you?” The super soldier replied somewhat offended.

“I mean I understand his decision, although I do miss him.” After a thought, he added “Would you have done the same?”

“Hmm... I truly don’t know. But probably not. So much shit happened to me. Even with all the torture, it led to me being here today, fine or at least working on it and trying to save the world. I’m contempt living like that.”

“But don’t you want more?” He pressed on.

“Not really. I have my highs and lows, but on my highs I’m just- there are some good days that I wouldn’t change for the world.”

Sam could feel himself smiling at that.

“I wouldn’t want to go back either.” He said softly. “Maybe only to save Riley, but then... I would come right back here.”

“And I would have tried to prevent past Bucky from murdering so many people.” He pointed out.

The other man abruptly stopped cutting the brunette’s hair and waited. Bucky sighed.

“I meant the Winter Soldier.”

“Good.” Sam muttered and picked up his job.

There was a comfortable silence when he took out the razor and started shaving the sides of the soldier’s head.

After a couple of minutes, Bucky broke the silence.

“You know, from all that time travel shit, a good thing came out.”

Sam hummed in question.

“You got the shield.” He explained as a matter of fact.

“Yeah the government certainly doesn’t share your enthusiasm.” He laughed bitterly.

“Fuck them!” He exclaimed and it was so sudden that the Falcon almost dropped his razor.

He turned it off, placed it on the sink and tried to keep himself from laughing. He failed and Bucky soon joined. 

When they calmed down and recollected their breaths, Sam admitted softly, “It pains me to think about all the people we lost. But for all it matters, I’m glad it was you I was left with.”

The super soldier then turned to look at him in the eyes and gave him the softest of smiles, but didn’t say anything.

The other man cleared his throat, sort of embarrassed that the soldier didn’t say anything in return and announced, “So. Ready for the final reveal?”

Bucky turned to the still covered mirror again. “Oh no... should I be scared? Do I need to wear hats for the rest of my life?”

“Oh fuck off, I did an excellent job.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

“Okay then...” he said and removed the towel from the mirror. 

Bucky didn’t say anything for a moment. He looked positively shocked; as if he couldn’t recognize himself.

When he finally spoke, his voice cracked with all the emotion it was carrying, “It’s great. Thank you, Sam.”

“Told you I’m good at this.” He tried to lighten the mood, but his friend didn’t budge.

“You know... I used to have short hair during the war. Not exactly like this, but it was short. Then Hydra happened. And honestly they weren’t much for personal hygiene. Although they did purposely make me look unrecognizable. Anyway... like-like this I feel more like the old Bucky. I know I’m not him anymore, but I’m not the Winter Soldier either.” ****

“No, you are not.” He replied softly.

In a matter of seconds, Bucky had gotten up and wrapped his arms around the shorter man. When Sam realized what was happening, he reciprocated the hug with a crushing force.

“Thank you” the super soldier whispered as he buried his face in his partner’s shoulder. “For everything.” he added after a second.

“You know... you make me a better person, too, Buck. You may be an annoying brat-“ Bucky let out a wet laugh at that. “but fighting with you, living with you, it makes me happier that I’ve ever thought I would be after everything that had happened.”

They stayed like that for a couple of minutes, both men too emotional to let go. 

When they felt ready, Bucky pulled away just enough to smile down at his friend and then let go. 

“It’s been a long day and it’s getting late. We should probably get some shut eye.” Sam pointed out.

The other man hummed in agreement and they started cleaning the mess in the bathroom, working in companionable silence.

When they were done, they exited the small space and headed to their respective bedrooms.

The moment Sam’s hand was holding the doorknob, he heard, “Hey Sam..”

He turned to look at his teammate who was already in his room, the door half open and his head popping out. 

“For all it’s worth... I’m glad it was you I was left with, too” He admitted softly and closed his door.

He could feel a soft smile spreading on his lips, his heart beating too fast.

And at that moment he knew he could never abandon this timeline. _He had just found his home._

**Author's Note:**

> If you want mental images of Bucky’s haircut, check out the tfatws bts photos.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! If you enjoyed it, I would really appreciate it, if you left kudos and maybe a little comment <3


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